Singletary hits rewind on 49ers’ 27-13 loss to Eagles

Just touched down at SFO, where I was delighted to see roads not covered in snow.

While I was in the air, the 49ers were nice enough to send out a transcript of Mike Singletary’s press conference. Here’s the full monty:

Opening statement:

“Good morning. After looking at the game film, I felt a little bit better, after looking at the film. Overall as a team, I thought we played pretty hard. We just didn’t play very smart at times. When I looked at the offensive side of the ball, I thought [QB] Alex Smith did some nice things. As a matter of fact, I owe him an apology. I talked with him after the game and we had a conversation where I really kind of challenged him on some things, some of those throws or whatever.

After looking at it, I have a better perspective.

The first interception that he threw, he was throwing the ball to [TE] Vernon [Davis], and to be honest with you, I just think Vernon has to make a better play on that ball. I think the ball was there. It’s just one of those situations where Vernon either has to make that play, or either he has to stop that DB from making that play. He’s got to help the quarterback as well. Vernon is going to be a great tight end one day, but he’s got to put the whole package together. That was the first interception. The second interception that Alex threw, it looks like the defense was playing two-man. The same sort of thing happened when we played Tennessee, where they had sort of like a four-man, where when the tight end takes off up the field, the safety is going to take off with him, and then the quarterback is getting back in a rhythm and it’s like, the ball is out. So, when you have a quarterback that’s as efficient as Alex can be and is getting the ball out and getting it to the receivers, then what you do from time to time is do a trap two. It’s a trap coverage where you’re throwing the ball on timing, and it looks like the receiver, or the defender is going with that receiver, and about one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, you come back and get in front of the second guy that the quarterback is going to try and throw the ball to because he feels that either the corner or the safety has run off, but they come back. So, that’s what happened last night on the second coverage. I know that doesn’t make any sense to you, but I’m trying to explain it within the time frame that I can. But, I can understand why it happened; you just don’t want it to happen. The last interception he threw was just a poor decision. He’s trying to – the guy has him, he’s trying to make a throw to [RB] Frank [Gore]. It’s a bad decision. So, when I look at his play other than that, he’s getting the ball out, he’s throwing the ball where it needs to be. He threw some nice balls, out patterns – wherever you want it. He was making some pretty good throws.

I thought the o-line, overall, did a pretty decent job. The guys were physical on the run. I thought we did a pretty decent job on the run. As far as the passes were concerned, a couple of times protection broke down. When that happens, it’s not going to be a good situation. We had hoped to be able to run the ball a little bit more than we did, but when we got behind, obviously we had to take some chances and throw the ball down the field a little bit more. Otherwise, we would have liked to have stayed with the run a little bit.

I thought Frank ran the ball well when he had the opportunity. It’s a shame we couldn’t have gotten him the ball more last night. That’s kind of the way we were built in thinking this week, running the ball a little bit more this week because they’re a smaller front. When we got behind – which is what they’re built for, coming from behind, rushing the passer, stunting, those kinds of things – they got to do what they do more than we did. That’s kind of the situation there. I thought the receivers played pretty decent. Josh Morgan really did a nice job. The receivers did a good job blocking downfield. So, when I think about the offense overall, that’s pretty much it for the offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, I thought our guys – once again – I thought they played pretty well. Once again, they did not play very smart at times. A few coverage breakdowns, communication breakdowns rather. Whether or not you’re going to be on top of a receiver or underneath him, that happened a couple of times, and one time it got us. But, it happened twice. Linebackers, underneath coverage: One time a tight end was going across the field, the guy has to stay with him. The communication has to be there, ‘I’m done here. You pick him up.’ That didn’t happen. All that is is just when you get behind, guys are trying to make plays. Guys are trying to do something more than just their job, and you can’t do it. You just can’t do that.

I thought the d-line did a pretty decent job. I thought the guys were playing hard. I thought Philly, their idea, their thought process when they were passing the ball was to either play action or max protect. I don’t think the play action worked very well because they didn’t get to run the ball very well. Play action runs better when you run the ball well. They didn’t do a good job of that, so they did a better job max protecting, which means just keeping all of your people in and sending out maybe a couple of receivers and hoping you have time to hit them downfield. When it wasn’t there, our DBs were covering, did a good job getting their hands on the guys for the most part. When it wasn’t there, [QB Donovan] McNabb just threw it out of bounds. A couple of times, he threw it to us. There were other times where either the d-line got their hands up and batted the ball down, but, like I said, they were playing hard.

Special teams, [K] Joe Nedney had a hamstring. Hamstring got tight on him, and a field goal was not possible last night, so we had to go on fourth down a couple of times when we would have maybe opted to kick a field goal. Other than that guys, questions?”

On whether he is planning for QB Alex Smith to be the starting quarterback in 2010:

“I think right now the thing that I want to do before I start talking about who’s going to do this and who’s going to do that, I want to finish the season. I want to play this game this week. I want to see how our offense and defense and special teams respond this week, knowing there is definitely no chance that we’re going to go to the playoffs. I think they’ll respond fine, but I want to get through. It’s going to take everything to get our guys ready and focused to get ready and play a good team coming in here. So, that’s the first thing I want to do. Right now, before there is a temptation to start thinking about, ‘Well, who’s going to do this? What changes do I need to make there and to start meeting with [general manager] Scot McCloughan about this and that.’ I can’t do that. We’ve got to focus on the two games that we have left. We’re going to finish. We’re going to finish this season and let everything else take care of itself.”

On whether he is pleased with Smith’s growth each week:

“Yes, I am. When I look at Alex, I think each week he’s continued to grow. I think he’s done a lot in a short amount of time. There are some quarterbacks around the league, and I’m not going to get into that, but that’s been playing a while, and I don’t think as efficient as he is right now. So, to me, when I’m looking at him and some of the things that he’s been able to do, and some of things that he did last night, some of the decisions that he made, I think some of the things that have been happening right now for him, it’s just that experience factor. It’s just getting the timing down with the receivers more, and those little trap plays there whether it’s a two or four, he’s going to have a better feel for if that safety is really going to go with that tight end, or is that corner really going to go with the No. 1 receiver. All that is is just seeing it long enough, going through it long enough so you have a feel for it. But, I’m comfortable with what I’m seeing right now.”

On the areas of the team that he has questions about:

“It’s like this: I think, for our team, it’s a situation where I think the most important thing for us to do, when everything is all said and done, is to look back at the problem areas and try and address those. But, when you look at the defense, there was a time that I was maybe a little more concerned about the back end, but I think our DBs have done a better job of getting their hands on guys and being more physical with their receivers. I think on the offensive line, I think there was a time that I had a lot of questions about the offensive line, but I think they’ve worked through some things and have gotten to a point where they’re a pretty decent offensive line. There are just parts of the team that we have to address. We’re constantly evaluating talent. We’re constantly evaluating our players and coaches. I think we just have to sit down and really take a close look at it. I think it’s a good situation to have when I can’t just sit here and go, ‘Oh, we’ve got a problem here. We’ve got a problem there.’ I think we’ve got to sit down and look at the film and, as a staff, kind of go through it and really look at we have to address this issue and that issue and move on.”

On whether he will play backups the rest of the season:

“I think first and foremost, the last message I want to send is: we want to evaluate before we want to win. We want to win. Every time we step on the field, I want our guys to know we want to win and we want to compete. But at the same time, if we have a guy that hasn’t had a chance to play, or we haven’t really had a chance to look at him and we think maybe there is a chance he can play, to send him in for a series or maybe two and see how he handles that, that gives you some idea of where he is. It doesn’t mean you have to play him the whole game or a whole half. I just think if there are spots where you feel you can do it, then do it. If you feel you can’t, then it’s just not going to happen. But we are going to try to win first.”

On teaching the team how to win on the road:

“After the season we have to sit down and evaluate it. We have to sit down and evaluate what we can do better, what we need to do better. Was it the road? Was it just the team? Was it that week, or whatever? I think when it is all said and done, we just have to evaluate it and go from there.”

On why 49ers quarterbacks have started well and hit a wall the last couple of seasons:

“First of all, I have not seen Alex hit a wall. I have to be very honest there, that is why I am looking forward to the next two games. I have not seen him hit a wall. I think he has been consistent. We can go back to the Tennessee game and you say, ‘Hey, he had four turnovers.’ No, no he didn’t. There was some help that he had in that game, and it was the same in this game. It is a shame to me that every time a quarterback throws an interception that automatically it’s him. The guy is off, well he stinks. I think it is very important, and you have to evaluate it as the coach and make sure that you are looking at that quarterback and not destroy him and forget about the other parties involved. Is it the line, are they giving him enough protection? Is it the receivers, are they getting where they are supposed to go? Is there a trust factor, that receiver, can he trust him? There are a lot of different issues, which is why when I look at the film I am very encouraged. I don’t have a situation in here where I am sitting back thinking, ‘Man, I thought Alex was making progress and now I don’t know.’ I’m not there at all, I promise you. I feel very good about his progression and the fact that he has only played a month and a half, maybe two, I am very encouraged by what I have seen in a short amount of time for a guy who has been out of football for a couple of years.”

On the inconsistencies on deep passes in the past two games:

“I don’t know about that. I would have to go back and look at that. That is something you have seen and I need to pay more attention to it. I will look at that and address it. But I think overall, with most quarterbacks, it is the same scenario, when you are throwing the ball within 10 yards, 15 yards, that intermediate route, you have more room. You have more room to throw, you have the crossing routes, you have that kind of stuff which is easier to hit. When you start talking about the accuracy downfield, that is something, for a quarterback, that is a little more difficult for most of them. I have seen Alex throw the ball downfield and hit the receivers, but I guess the consistency factor, I need to go back and look at the ratio and see what that is because I really haven’t seen enough to say, ‘Good under and not good up there.’”

On how he feels about missing the playoffs:

“Let me ask you this: Give me some idea, if you have any idea, you have been sitting in this chair for a little bit, how do you have any idea how you think I might feel?”

{I would imagine you feel deeply disappointed.]

“That’s putting it mildly. Yes, I am very frustrated. There are a lot of adjectives, some that I can’t say, but I feel. This is a team that, it is unfortunate, it is a team that is good enough, they have to play perfect every week, the margin for error is very, very small, but this is a team that is very close to being that playoff team. I am saying very close because now we are not going to be in there. I think a lot of the pieces are in place. The most important thing in place, I think, is the work ethic and the belief that we are a step away, or however you put it. But I don’t really want to go there either because you start talking like, ‘Oh, but next year.’ I don’t want to go there either. All I know is this group of guys, I am very proud of what they have been able to accomplish. Closing out the season is very important, in terms of how we do that because everything we want to be about going forward has everything to do with how we finish. If we want to call ourselves a good team or a decent team or an average team, to me not being able to go to the payoffs, and it is for them because they have worked hard enough, but we just weren’t smart enough, for the most part, to make it. But very frustrating, very frustrating.”

On any new injuries:

“I think [RB] Glen Coffee has a thigh strain and [K] Joe Nedney, they both will have an MRI today and we will see from there. I think [T Joe] Staley came out OK, I will get more information on that later on. But I think everything else is okay.”

On Nedney’s status for next week:

“If he can’t kick the ball, if he can’t kick field goals, then we will possibly try to look at someone to see if we can solve that issue.”

On whether the person he would look at would be from outside the team:

“Yes sir.”

On whether P Andy Lee could handle the kicking duties:

Daniel Brown

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No, it makes perfect sense. It’s very annoying when these football guys try to make us believe that football is some type of secret language/4th dimension thing that no one but them can even begin to understand.

I think very often they make it harder than it has to be even for themselves, but it’s still just football, and many of us are professionals in the world and understand how many things work.

The bottom line is he’s making excuses for why Smith didn’t read that trap. I’m an Alex supporter and I think he’s done well at times; every QB throws INTs and I still think that Manning, Brady or Brees would struggle in this kindergarten offense, but at some point Alex has to show the FIELD SENSE that successful QBs have; reading safeties, sensing traps, anticipating blitzes, etc.

I would really like to see Nate Davis get a chance to play some in these next two games to see more of what he’s learned and what he’s got. He has real talent and is probably as good as anyone we could draft, but I’m not betting that he’ll get a chance.

I also think the team should trade Vernon now that he has some value. He has improved immensely, but he’s never going to be a real star player, and that totally weak effort on that deep throw is a clear example of his lack of football instincts. He’s having a nice season, but as a receiver Delanie Walker can do everything Davis can do, and we need the added resources to fill in all the other holes this team has.

This team has so many needs (two OL, another top WR, a top RB – sorry Frank, you’re not elite – a top pass rusher, a top corner & a free safety) but to me the biggest hole continues to be the overall offensive system and preparation.

So much is made of the number of OCs the team has gone through, but I think more than the constant change the real problem has been that NONE of them, except for Norv to a degree, have been worth one penny (including Meltdown Martz) and until they get someone in that position that is actually worthy of a job that pays upwards of a million dollars a year and where only 32 of them exist, nothing else they do will matter much.

For any real hope we need Singletary to improve in a BIG way, we need a major influx of top-tier talent to augment the many solid players we have now and we need Smith or Davis to emerge as a QB who can win when it’s NOT going well, but mostly we need an OC who is GREAT. That one thing would solve allot of the other issues IMO.

Parents, stop teaching your kids to play ball or swing a golf club. For goodness sake can someone start grooming some brilliant offensive minds? It’s hard but it ISN’T brain surgery (despite what the powers want us to believe) yet we can’t seem to find a guy who can even put on a band-aide! Jimmy, I hear Hawaii is a real nice place to retire.

David

Any writer ask york , and singletary about , why they both stated we would make the playoffs , and now that we cant whats their take.And , why can other teams look at game film and figure out to beat us , yet we failed to use that strategy 8 times?I’m starting to think our game planning is based on HOPE!

niner

“playing hard but not smart.” I like that Sing is at least admitting the obvious. Funny how playing stupid occurs a great deal when you play Philly, Green Bay, Farve, Houston and other WCO teams. Maybe Sing is just cursed by it for the last 3 decades or perish the thought, Walsh was correct when he said his teams would beat “caveman” teams 8-10 times. But York doesn’t care if his team is digressing, for him as long as he is under the cap, and doesnt have to pay for a Holmgren, allen, Shanahan or Gruden he’s happy as a fly on sheet. ” i like the direction were going” who cares if we are sub .500 for 6 years, drafted Balmer over jackson or Smith , a shotgun qb who cant play under center, or a OL that is the worst in the NFL for the last 7 years!) The Giants, indy and New orleans ownership got tired of bootm feeding but not the Yorkies.! The fans will follow York as he plays his flute , to Oaktown where they can hang out with the Raider and Warrior fans!! What a useless organization!

Johnny

Same story different day. Smith threw 3 ints, its not his fault. It never has been and it never will be his fault.

lance newberry

“Funny how playing stupid occurs a great deal when you play Philly, Green Bay, Farve, Houston and other WCO teams”

That’s a very good point. I was thinking yesterday about how well Philly & Marty Mornhinweg were moving the ball around, left to right, in & out, short & deep; running one thing to set up another.

Raye loves to run that bubble screen or whatever they call it, the quick short pass to the WR (that never works) which is fine, except that they never fake it and then go deep the other way. Nothing much he does seems designed to set up other things, to manipulate and control the defense.

Maybe Singletary just hates that type of offense because it beat him so many times as a player, just as it’s continuing to beat him now.

Mike in MD

I agree with you Lance for the most part ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO LIFETIME/CAREER MIDDLE OF THE ROAD RAYE. The way I see it even IF he were to hit his peak ability on this team he would still be in the middle of the pack Offensively. He clearly IS NO WHERE NEAR GOOD ENOUGH to be a winner in the NFL & his career record proves it. Like you said Sing needed & needs an exceptional OC to succeed since like Nowin he knows nothing about that side of the ball. I totally agree about Norv Turner being the ONLY OC we’ve had since the Nowin era that was truly LEGIT & a top tier OC. (Maybe Mike McCarthy as well but the WCO isn’t best suited for Smith.)

On Davis I could go either way. Trade or keep him. Same with Gore. They both have value now. But on Delanie Walker I’ve always thought he is overhyped & he’s no where as good as VD as a credible blocking TE. On running routes & getting YAC after the catch Walker might be slightly more of a natural route runner but on the YAC he’s a straight line runner with ZERO elusiveness. Course VD is similar but having that top speed gives the edge to Davis. Walker is a disappointment IMO. After watching the last game I know Leonard Weaver (was that his name?) though he’s a FB is WAY MORE EFFECTIVE & a weapon I’d rather have by a long shot than Walker. I wished McCloughan went after him when he was available in FA. Walker shouldn’t even be returning kicks….but that’s a whole other subject. (Our returners especially slow a** Battle is pathetic. Our returners period are abysmal & just plain sorry. We have zero explosive returners on this team.)

I think I’d lean on keeping Davis for now. Why?? Because McCloughan & the Coaches IMO are blind & lack the vision to see this team NEEDS MORE SPEED/SPEED/SPEED/SPEED & EXPLOSIVE PLAYERS on BOTH sides of the ball. Davis continues to work at his craft & has made steps this year & is already familiar having 1 year under this system. And with McCloughan & Co. lacking bringing in those explosive fast playmakers we still need many more of WE NEED AS MANY AS WE CAN KEEP. So for now I’m leaning on keeping Davis. To stay on the speed/explosiveness topic in regards to our WR’s I strongly believe we need a fast, explosive, dynamic home run capable #1 WR to compliment Crabtree who I see as potentially one who can become an elite POSSESSION WR, but not a home run hitter. The type of #1 WR I’m talking about are ones in the mold of Ándre Johnson, Detroit’s CJ, Brandon Marshall, etc. The WR we’ve had since the Nowin era who probably filled that role was the WR who’s playing in Tampa now (who crashed his Ferrari & was at odds with Nowin..I forget his name.) Crabtree I envision as a Boldin type who could be a great #2 or maybe borderline #1 due to his lack of breakaway speed. Morgan & Hill could fight for the #3 spot. My God Morgan is sloooow…..it’s difficult to figure how he gets open. Brandon Jones has been a disappointment so far how we’ve ignored him since he’s our ONLY WR legit deep threat.

For some reason this 2010 Draft isn’t panning out to that all out better Draft than last years with many projected top prospects dropping off. (Carlos Dunlap, Sergio Kindle, Taylor Mays…who’s waaay overhyped….NO, NO, NO on Mays.) So far I only like Suh (no chance), ERIC BERRY, & possibly Joe Haden who’s supposedly the top CB but he has a smaller frame like Bly. Not many CB’s this year with SIZE/speed/ + ball skills…they’re mostly smaller CB’s this year. Okung is a Staley clone. Light at 300 lbs & I see him as being a good to very good OT who’s durable but NOT a DOMINANT OT like my boy Michael Oher who I think does have that potential. The pass rushing OLB from TCU has some good reviews but you have to question that competition & really do your research.

Mike in MD

Very good #5 post. It’s RIGHT ON.

Raye blows. WTH is happening with this team? We’re surrounded by mediocrity.

I’m venting I know.

Mike in MD

Back to Davis. Since we lack that explosive, fast, dynamic true legit #1 WR Davis compliments Crabtree nicely. They both are weapons the Defense has to respect & think about. Without VD that causes the Defense to primarily focus & take away Crabtree as the top receiving threat. VD & Crabtree allow each other to get open.

Now on Gore he’s similar to Crabtree in that he doesn’t have that dynamic explosiveness & breakaway speed (a common theme on this team.) If we keep him we should definitely bring in a change of pace scat back. Oh wait…didn’t we have that potential in Kory Sheets?? That’s that lack of vision I was talking about. Sigh.

snsf49Loyal

Same old Sh… ra ra ra you still loose, motivational speaking goes only so far big claims at the begining of the season, NO SHOW good job!!!

lance newberry

Mike in MD,

The way you described Walker is exactly how I’d describe Vernon; runs fast in a straight line and now is catching MOST of the balls thrown his way, but he’s stiff as a board with the ball in his hands. Walker DOES have the ability to run with the ball, as he has done in the past few weeks since they’ve started using him more. For a 250-pound TE he even returned kicks decently, and he was looking good yesterday, even on the play where he fumbled the damn ball.

As a blocker I think Davis is good but IMO he got a bit over-hyped by Singletary last year as part of his way of building up Davis after he’d broken him down, but it doesn’t really matter because Davis rarely stays in to block now, and blocking TEs are easily found (maybe not by our team though; I’m watching Bear Pascoe contributing to the Giants thrashing of the Redskins as I write this).

I agree that the team needs an explosive WR to compliment Crabtree, but I don’t think Davis is that guy. He runs one route well, and Walker can run fast straight up the field too.

If we could get a good draft choice for Davis I’d do it in a heartbeat, because we need the recourses, but more because I think Davis is still a loser at heart. I wouldn’t trade Gore because I think he’s a warrior, if not an “elite” runner, but they need to be looking for another RB now.

But none of this matters because there is no way they’ll even think about trading Davis, or make any other big shake-up moves. That would be too bold and would be admitting that they’re NOT on the “right path going forward” as they love to say so often.

C Gatos

We should not be talking about trading any good position players. Bottom line is that the top teams have a QB that can make plays – simple as that. Some make more plays than others…Alex Smith makes none. Singletary knows not to embarass the Yorks so he keeps making excuses for Smith and keeps playing him. Smith is one-dimensional and will never be the QB they thought they were getting and desperately need. When are they all going to finally admit their mistake in taking him and look ahead? I am tired of all the excuses made for Alex Smith. Sure, the numerous OC’s have not helped in his development but the OC’s are not the ones who are totally ineffective rolling to their right. The OC’s are not overthrowing, throwing behind wide open receivers. How many passes has Smith ever completed when the play breaks down and he has to improvise? Shaun Hill, a career back-up, can improvise but he had one bad half this year while going 3-1 and he gets benched? Oh, let’s blame the O line!…Uh, they are not the ones running the play clock down to 3,2,1 before each snap which allows the defense to stampede because they KNOW when the ball is going to be snapped. The Niners have more talent in skill positions than they are given credit for. The glaring weakness is QB. While it will never happen, plug Drew Brees, Philip Rivers or somone not even named Manning or Brady into this Niner offense and this years’ team goes 10-6 easy and makes the playoffs – just like Singletary guaranteed. For the benefit of the other offensive players the Niners should keep Jimmy Raye for another year and have tryouts for QB. Alex can try out along with Nate Davis and, perhaps Trent Edwards and who knows who else. Based on what we KNOW from 4 years of Alex Smith, unless Jamarcus Russell tries out and gets the nod, we can’t get much worse.

No way we should trade V.Davis. Why trade a really good player, to take a risk in drafting an unknown player? Alex Smith was really good in college, and now look at him. If a team is lucky enough to draft a good player, you don’t trade him for an unknown. You build around him.

We do need another QB. The team does not trust in or believe in Alex. Neither do I. I want him to succeed; we’ve got a lot invested in him as a #1 pick. But, I’d say that unless he blossoms next season, he’s GOT to be gone in 2011.

We need to draft an OT and a DB or OLB with our two picks in the first round.

ECJ

Mike in MD

Lance – VD is all we have for the time being to take the pressure off Crabtree & vice versa. If it was Walker was to be our TE with VD traded & gone as a Defense I’d be reading 90-95% pass with Walker in with his mediocre unreliable blocking when we run. Like I said McCloughan lacks that vision of bringing in explosive dynamic fast playmakers so we NEED ALL WE CAN KEEP. That’s a liability I see on this team. We’ve lacked having enough explosive playmakers on this team seemingly like forever. Just no where near enough.

#11 is right on in regards to the QB position being THE #1 PROBLEM. I respect Singletary but his lack of HC & Offensive experience tells me he doesn’t have much credibility calculating if he has a true franchise QB or not. Heck who in this organization does?? Sing’s learning day to day, year to year on-the-job. I realize he’s doing the best he can & is making progress/steps towards being an effective HC. That will take a considerable amount of time & growing pains for us. Probably a lot.

I haven’t done much research on the QB crop coming out in this Draft. Just read an article about Jake Locker that’s swayed me away from him. He’s staying for his Senior year anyways. Belichick & Pioli only Draft high round QB’s IF they’re whole passion EVOLVES AROUND FOOTBALL. Locker seems to lack that. Him staying another year gives him a chance to weigh his chances about his other interest in baseball. Plus the article also said his girlfriend could have had something to do with influencing to stay another year. If you love the game why would pass up being picked in the top 5 of this coming Draft? This is probably the highest he will be selected. Anyways…..I don’t think we go high RD for a QB. I do believe we should pick up a mid-RD QB if there’s one worth taking. The more that challenge for the job in TC the better IMO.

Also back to the OC. I’d feel a whole lot better about Smith’s potential for success with Norv Turner or a Cam Cameron or the like on board instead of Raye. IMO that would make a HUGE difference in Smith’s development & chances for success. He’s the type of QB that needs that close supervision who needs someone with real expertise on how to bring along & develop Quarterbacks. Gotta get to work!

Mo P

If Smith is the type of QB that really needs good supervision and guidance, to finally develop, then he’s probably not the QB for the 49ers. Let him learn that elsewhere, Cleveland perhaps.

SF needs a QB above that. A player that makes plays and doesn’t need the coddling that Alex Smith needs. He’s rated in the bottom 10 in QB’s this season and its his fifth. There are younger lesser experienced QB’s without a running game that have a better QB rating than him. He’ll get to inflate his numbers in the next two weeks, but just look at Smith’s game log over his career. It’s bad but rather consistent.

JEB

I have read a lot of posts today about QB position. While I know that it is Sing’s job to put the spin on A. Smith, so as to not make the organization look incompetent for drafting him, I have to say that I have seen every snap of every game and while a lot of people are now back on the Hill bandwagon, give it a break! Hill didn’t have the ability to throw the ball across a large room and it brought back images of Jeff Garcia without the scrambling ability.

I am probably in the minority in saying that I like what Alex has done. Yes I know that he is never going to be elite. But lets face it would you rather trade him away like the bears did orton and the second guess yourselves later if he is successful? Put a better O line in front of him, leave the OC in place and see what happens. I will admit from the earlier post the next year has got to be the put up or shut up year. The excuse of the OC won’t be there to fall back on and Crabtree will have the experience under him. No excuses! The players are there and if Alex can’t get it done then it is time to get someone that can. Which is where Nate Davis comes in. If Alex is going to be replaced with a draft in 11, then why doom the team for the next 4 years trying to groom a QB? Should things falter next year because of Alex, the put in Nate to be the stop gap until a rookie can develop, don’t make the mistake that Detroit and the Jets have made by putting him in right away. Isn’t that what we did with Alex?

Don’t trade VD! I can’t believe that people would ever think that is a good idea. He turns a corner and becomes one of the top five TE in the league and to reward him…………..we are going to trade you VD sorry. How ridiculous is that?

Draft OL, DL a corner and a S. Leave the rest in place! You can’t build a castle if you keep giving your bricks away to the enemy.

tpnguye3

Totally agreed with #15. Niners have changed OC and QB year after year and have never had consistency in how the offense is going to be, and now people want to a new QB, a new OC….We need to keep AS & Ray for another year to develop consistent repertoir on the offense with Gore, VD, Crabtree and OL and see how it is going to play out.
Getting good players are hard enough now someare tlaking about trading Gore, VD…???? we need at least another OL stud, a speedy & deep threat receiver (Desean type, heck …Niners passed him up for Balmer bust)…. and i think next year they should be way better. If not , yes it is time for a change.